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MST3K 912 - The Screaming Skull
The Short: Robot Rumpus Synopsis A cautionary tale of our over reliance on technology. Gumby uses toy robots to do his chores. Initially Mrs. Gumby is thrilled by her son's ingenuity. Unfortunately for our plasticine hero, things go awry and the malfunctioning robots wreak havoc throughout the house and yard. They paint graffiti on the house and begin to tear down the Gumby's garage. Mrs. Gumby panics and calls her husband at the fire department, who races home in a fire truck and tries to stop the malignant mechanical men. However, he is quickly overwhelmed by the machines and dumped in the trash. Gumby manages to rescue his father but another robot breaks through the wall with a lawnmower and frightens Mrs. Gumby. Gumbo tries to stop a rogue robot who is digging up the flowerbed, but is thrown onto a nearby roof and takes the impact in the groin. Gumby gets him down but not even a wrench can stop the robot (as Gumbo gets it thrown through him). Gumby hijacks a crane and destroys the last robot. Gumby's parents then force him to do all the chores by himself. The end credits feature a robot's head hung above Gumby's garage, which causes great distress to Servo and Crow. Information * This was the first and only Gumby short used on MST3K. * The MST3K version cuts out the first five minutes of the short, starting as Gumby and Pokey are heading to the kitchen. The Movie Synopsis The film opens with a warning that viewers may die from fright while watching it. Eric (John Whitlock) and Jenni (Peggy Webber, the sand-phobic wife from Experiment #906 The Space Children) are newlyweds. He's a joyless widower sans ''vocation, but he does have a mansion on lavishly landscaped grounds from his last marriage, which ended in the sudden death of his wife. Jenni's an unstable heiress who has spent time in a sanitarium due to a traumatic incident in her past - the accidental drowning of her parents, which she witnessed. She blames herself for being unable to save them and also for (prior to the accident) hating her mother and wishing her dead. Back from their honeymoon, they move into the house without phone, lights, or furniture. They encounter three locals - Reverend Snow (Russ Conway), his wife, and Mickey (director Alex Nicol), a shabby, semi-verbal groundskeeper who can barely make eye contact, and who, it is said, was extremely close to Eric's dead wife, Marion, having grown up with her. Reverend Snow and wife welcome them with fresh eggs and help them hang drapes inside the residence. Snow divulges to Jenni the story of Marion's mysterious demise. "She slipped on a leaf in the rain and hit her head on a wall and the base of her skull was bashed in and she fell in a pool and drowned," he explains. While Eric's away, Jenni tries to befriend Mickey. Meanwhile, Mickey talks to the painting of Marion in the lobby of the house. "Send them away!" he begs her/it. While alone, Jenni hears strange sounds - knocking, distant shrieking, doors banging - and contorts her face into grimaces. She also had heard sounds before she went into the sanitarium, so she's afraid she may be getting sick again. A cabinet door opens by itself; she discovers a lily pad from the pond where Marion drowned on the floor of the house; the audience sees the image of a skull floating before the portrait of Marion. Does Jenni see it? Is she imagining it or is it really there? It's not so clear. Eric ascribes the presence of the aquatic vegetation to Mickey, who, Eric placidly says, probably enters their house unannounced at night. He promises to "speak to him". Mickey and Jenni carry flowers to Marion's shrine on the estate grounds. Mickey tells Jenni that Marion "cries at night". One evening, Jenni hears vigorous knocking at the front door. Upon opening, there is a skull resting on the doorstep, and it appears to roll of its own accord into the house. Mickey observes from outside. Did he do it, or is the skull self-powered? Eric pretends to confront Mickey as though he suspects the latter is responsible. As part of Eric's unconventional approach to promote mental health, he urges Jenni to ritually burn the portrait of Marion because it reminds Jenni of her mother. They do so, but the painting shrieks in the process (the audience hears the shriek but not the characters). Jenni and Eric start to bury the ashes, but that unearths yet another skull. Jenni swoons while Eric pretends to see nothing. He abandons Jenni on the lawn and takes the skull, hiding it in the garden pond, secretly observed by Mickey. Jenni, rattled, prepares to return to the rest home. Reverend Snow becomes suspicious after hearing of the ashes and skull ceremony. He informs Jenni that he is sending men to search the estate for the skull and she relays the information to Eric. He races to retrieve it from the pond, but it's gone. He violently confronts Mickey who tells him "Marion" took the skull. Jenni prepares to return to the sanitarium. She takes a final walk to bid farewell to Mickey and espies a figure in the distance - someone in a wedding dress and veiled hat. It must be the dead Marion! Jenni screams and flees with "Marion" in hot pursuit, shrieking. Meanwhile, Eric readies a noose to kill Jenny and make it look like suicide. Jenny races into the house and Eric proceeds to throttle her into oblivion. Suddenly, there is a loud knock at the door. An intruder has arrived. Who... or ''what... could it be? Will Eric get away with murder yet again, or will his treachery be revealed? Will Marion have her vengeance? Information * Released as the top half of a double feature with Terror from the Year 5000 (1958).http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052169/trivia * This movie opens with a disclaimer offering free funeral services to anyone who died of fright while watching. Director William Castle made the same offer for his movie Macabre in 1958. Unlike Castle, The Screaming Skull's director Alex Nicol did not actually contact an insurance company. * The movie was filmed on the Hollywood estate of director Huntington Hartford in Griffith Park within six weeks. Each of the actors were paid $1,000 for their performances. * Director Alex Nicol got Peggy Webber interested in starring in the movie by telling her it was a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's film Rebecca. During filming, when she revealed she was pregnant with a son, the ending (which originally had her falling down the stairs to her death) had to be re-written. * The "oom-pah music" in the beginning of the film is the "Dies Irae" section of Berlioz' "Symphony Fantastique". A different arrangement was used in the opening of Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: Tom reveals that he has become a beautiful butterfly. Segment One: Although he doesn't look like it anymore, Tom is still a beautiful butterfly. Meanwhile, Pearl, Brain Guy, and Professor Bobo pull a less-than-effective prank on the SOL crew, wasting lots of time and money in the progress. Segment Two: Crow and Tom create their own little playlet based on the Gumby short, only to breakdown from the pain caused by it. Segment Three: Tom tries to scam his way into getting a free coffin. Segment Four: Crow disguises himself as a screaming skull to scare Mike. It works a little too well. Closing (Segment Five): Tom's coffin arrives and he reveals that in order to pay for shipping, he has maxed-out Mike's credit card. Later, Bobo tries to pull the same trick on Mike and the Bots from before, resulting in him getting shrunk by Brain Guy. Stinger: Eric flings a stool at the skeleton. Other Notes Guest Stars * Friendly Phone Representative - Barbara Tebben * Delivery Man - Patrick Brantseg Trivia * The last MST3K episode broadcast on The Sci-Fi Channel. (January 31, 2004). Obscure References *Tom- "Butterflies are free to fly. Fly away, high away, bye-bye." :Tom is doing a somewhat matter-of-fact recitation of a lyric from Elton John's song " ". *''"Hey don't! That's Wallace and Gromit's lawn!"'' :Wallace and Gromit are the main characters in a series of claymation films (shorts and a feature) by Nick Park about the adventures of a bumbling inventor and his dog. *''"Habitat AGAINST Humanity..."'' : is a non-profit Christian organization that builds houses for families in need around the world. *''"Sixteen tons, what do you get? Another day older..."'' :These are the first two lines of the chorus of the song "Sixteen Tons" which is about the drudgery and poverty of coal mining. It was originally recorded in 1956, and later popularized by Tennesee Ernie Ford. *''"Hey, you use one of those older Philips analog chips in your robot, you're going to get this."'' :This refers to an attempt by Philips in 1992 to create the Digital Compact Cassette, a cassette recorder/player that was compatible with analog cassettes and that could compete with MiniDiscs and DATs. It never caught on, and was discontinued in 1996. *''"So he just goes to work starkers?"'' :"Starkers" is British lingo used to describe someone going completely naked. *''"I'm going to set you on Don Knotts strength!"'' :Don Knotts (1924-2006) was an American comedic actor. His most famous roles include deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show and landlord Ralph Furley on Three's Company, which played up his thinness and lack of physical prowess for humorous effect. *''"I wonder why the Gumbys never had any other children."'' :Later in the series, Gumby did have a sister. Her name was Minga. *''"Davey and Goliath are moving in next door. There goes the neighborhood."'' :Davey and Goliath is a Christian television show by Art Clokey (also the creator of Gumby) that features the adventures of a boy and his talking dog who gave moral advice. *''"Now I'm ready for years of powerful Adlerian therapy, Mike!"'' :A reference to types of psychotherapy based on the theories of Alfred Adler. *''"This is worse than Seven!"'' :''Seven'' (also called Se7en) is a 1995 thriller about two detectives' pursuit of a serial killer, who is killing people in ways that make them embody the deadly sins of which the killer feels they are guilty. The deaths of the victims are graphically depicted and extremely gruesome. *''"Gotta move this body back upstate."'' :A reference to a scene in the movie ''Goodfellas'', in which a group of mobsters must move the body of someone they murdered several months earlier when they learn the area where they buried the body is about to be developed. *''"Thank you and good night."'' :[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103070/ Thank You and Good Night] (1991) is a documentary on the elderly, aging and death. *''"Looks like a dead person won the Kentucky Derby."'' : is an annual American race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses that, since 1875, has been held on the first Saturday of May. It is also called the "Run for the Roses," because the winning horse is draped in a blanket of red roses. *''"Al Lewis's one-man show!"'' :Al Lewis (1923-2006) was best known for playing the vampire Grandpa in the sitcom The Munsters. *''"Brekekekex, ko-ax, ko-ax."'' :The frog chorus from Aristophanes' comedy The Frogs which was first performed in 405 BC. Yale University uses the frog chorus as a cheer. *''"My Sharona..."'' :"My Sharona" is the debut single by the Knack from 1979. It re-entered the charts in 1994. It's noted for having a hard, fast bass line. *''"Mazo-ola corn goo-oodness..."'' :Refers to an ad shown from the late '70s to the early '80s. The three above words were chanted by Native American men in an attempt to connect Mazola corn oil with Native Americans, the natural world, and quality. The 1982 version of the ad may be seen here, from 1:37 to 2:01. *''"I knew an Alex Kristy McNichol once. Thank you very much. Good night."'' :Kristy McNichol is an American actress who is best known for her roles as a teen and as a young woman in such TV shows as Family (1976-1980) and in such movies as Little Darlings (1980), Only When I Laugh (1981) and The Pirate Movie ''(1982). McNichol's last onscreen role was as Barbara Weston in the sitcom ''Empty Nest, which she left in 1992 after being diagnosed as bipolar. She returned for the series finale in 1995. She has rarely appeared on-camera since, though she has done some voice acting. *''"Help us! NBC is after us! Hide us!"'' :The pretended speakers are the peacocks in this scene — and NBC's logo is a peacock. * "Poor Mickey." "He's so fine, he blows my mind, poor Mickey." :A re-phrasing of Toni Basil's song "Mickey". The lyrics are actually "Oh Mickey, you're so fine/You're so fine you blow my mind/Hey Mickey, hey Mickey".'' Full lyrics are here. Toni Basil also played Red in [[MST3K 523 - Village of the Giants|''Village of the Giants]]. * "Now let me tell you about Norman Schwarzkopf's book!" '' Norman Schwarzkopf was a former United States Army General who led the coalition forces in the first Gulf War. He was known for being very short-tempered and did in fact write a few books including his memoir ''It Doesn't Take a Hero. ''His serious and stern nature is probably what alludes to the joke that the kind of books Jenny reads are anything but romantic. *"Are they skeet shooting in the lido deck?"'' : is one of three sporting practices that involves shooting "clay pigeons" with a shotgun. Skeet shooting is a common recreational activity on high-end cruise ships (as it removes the necessity to clean up the debris from shot pigeons). Such ships often have a lido deck which contains an outdoor pool and related equipment. *''"Gandalf's outside scratching things on there."'' :A reference to the wizard Gandalf from the J. R. R. Tolkein novel The Hobbit, who scratched symbols on the door to main protagonist Bilbo Baggins' house so the Company of Dwarves could find him for their quest to reclaim their homeland. *''"Hey! Do me a favor! Open the door! Let him in!"'' :Referencing lyrics from the Paul McCartney & Wings song " ". *''"Fruma Sarah!"'' :This refers to the song "The Dream" from ''Fiddler on the Roof''. In this notable sequence, the "ghost" of Fruma Sarah is part of a story that Tevye weaves to explain a change in an arranged marriage. *"...and Ida Know." :Not Me and Ida Know are two recurring characters in the newspaper comic "The Family Circus". Appearing as ghosts, they are allegories for the kids' excuses for their own wrongdoing. * "Jenny..." "I've got your number." :It's 867-5309. *''"They must have bought that chair from Gateway."'' :Gateway Computers was known for shipping all their merchandise in cowhide-print boxes. *''"He's doing Juan Epstein."'' :A reference to the 70s sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, which features a character who would occasionally respond to a question with a series of "what?-where?-when?-who?" responses, but the character who did this wasn't Juan Epstein, it was Vinnie Barbarino. *''"I should have married that nice Mr. Von Bulow."'' : was accused of attempting to murder his wife Sunny by intentionally injecting her with an overdose of insulin, leaving her in a vegetative state. His conviction of those charges, and the later overturning of the verdict on appeal, became the basis of the book and movie Reversal of Fortune. *''"The only end my friend!" "Yeah yeah, and the children are insane..."'' :Crow and Mike are reciting lyrics from the song The End by The Doors which was used for the opening and ending of the movie Apocalypse Now. Memorable Quotes Robot Rumpus (A Gumby Adventure) (short) : Crow Gumby: One of my classmates died in the kiln today, mother. : Tom Servo: The nice thing about Gumby is that you can also use him as window caulk. : of the robots doing Gumby's yardwork drives its lawnmower through the fence into the next yard. : Crow: Hey, don't! That's Wallace and Gromit's yard! : robot chops down a tree. : Mike: Hey! That's old-growth clay! : . . . : robot is ripping slats from the garage. : Crow: Habitat Against Humanity. : dad Gumbo arrives at the house, where we see a cloud — actually, a piece of white fluff — stuck on the construction-paper sky. : Crow Weatherman: It's a fair to partly-cottony day… : Gumby's Mother: Such clever boys certainly deserve crackers with their milk! : Servo: Crackers? Wow! Maybe they can have white rice later! : robot is digging up the flower garden. : Crow mobster: Gotta move this body back upstate. : robot spray paints the house : Mike: Clay figures, go home! : robot throws a wrench at Gumbo, which goes through him and leaves a wrench-shaped hole in his torso. : Servo: Liquid metal! : camera cuts to Gumby's reaction. : Mike Gumby: Hey, you can throw things through Dad! I'm gonna get an anvil! : flies through the air and lands, legs spread, on the roof of the neighboring house. : Mike Gumbo: Thank goodness for the internal genitalia! : stacked mother gives a stern look at a robot who's invaded the house. : Crow Gumby's Mother: That squares my breasts! : slides down the fire truck ladder from the roof in a sitting position. : Mike Gumbo: Son, I'm gonna need a can of Play-Doh to replace my butt. : robot head hangs over a garage door with the words, "THE END". : Servo: Aah! They hung his head! Oh... : Crow: Now I'm ready for years of powerful Adlerian therapy, Mike. : Servo: They hung his head! Oh... oh... This is worse than Se7en! : Mike: Hey! His bump is on the other side! The Screaming Skull (movie) : Narrator: "The Screaming Skull" is a motion picture that reaches its climax in shocking horror. : Mike: ...but we cut that. : Narrator: Its' impact is so terrifying, it may have an unforeseen effect: it may kill you. : Servo: ...if you watch it in front of a moving bus. : Eric: Jenni, this is Mickey. : Mike Eric: Mickey's a wide-awake nightmare! : goes to Marian's room, grabs a skull she found in the chifforobe, and flings it out the window. : Servo: Alas, poor Yorick! She threw him well! : pours her heart out to Reverend Snow, who looks grim. : Mike Rev. Snow: Have you tried talking to your minister about this? : face on Marian's tombstone briefly appears to morph into a skull as Eric looks at it. : Servo Eric: Don't you make that skull face at me, missy! : a long shot of Jenni sitting on her bed, not moving... : Crow: impatient Can we help you, movie lady? Do you need a push or something? : the greenhouse, Mickey struggles with an armful of flowerpots, dropping them as he tries to pick more up. : Crow: GET A BOX! : Jenni runs from Marian's ghost, the soundtrack has a soprano singing an erratic sequence of creepy notes. : Servo: Kiri Te Kanawa is drunk again! : back in the house, is shrieking uncontrollably. : Crow: Oh, great! She's playing her Yoko Ono albums. : Mike: I think the title was supposed to be "Screaming, semicolon, Skull". : is a long scene of continuous knocking at the door : Mike: Martin Luther is nailing each thesis individually. : flees to the stairs, where a skull tumbles down toward him. : Crow: Everyone knows it's Slink-skull! : Crow: So, this movie's kind of a combination of "The Tell-Tale Heart", Blithe Spirit, and... well, a piece of lint, I guess. : skull is throw out the window and hits the ground rolling, landing right side up. : Crow: Settled in a divot. : skull twitches. : Servo: Woof! Video releases *Commercially released on DVD by Shout! Factory in November 2014 as part of Volume XXXI, a 4-disc set along with Jungle Goddess, The Painted Hills, and Squirm. **The DVD includes a Turkey Day-style intro, the Ballyhoo Motion Pictures features This Film May Kill You: Making The Screaming Skull and Gumby and Clokey, and a theatrical trailer. * Re-released in October, 2016 in a "Double Feature" with Earth vs the Spider. This release is a single disc that lacks the extras from the Turkey Day Collection. * This episode was also included as an extra on Shout! Factory's Blu-ray of the unriffed movie in April 2017. References = Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 9 Category:Episodes with shorts Category:Unrated movies Category:Episodes directed by Kevin Murphy Category:1950s movies